The Price of Blood
The heavy, impossibly warm northern furs of Alpha Kade's cloak swallowed me entirely.
It smelled of fresh pine, crisp snow, and an intoxicating, dark musk that made the frantic, terrified beating of my heart begin to slow down. I was completely hidden from the predatory eyes of the auction hall, cocooned in the Shadow King's scent.
But the silence in the room was deafening.
Kade stood directly in front of me, his massive, broad-shouldered frame acting as an impenetrable wall of black leather and muscle between me and the rest of the world.
He slowly turned his head. His glowing, golden eyes locked onto the side of the stage.
Uncle Marcus was practically shaking out of his cheap suit, his face drained of all color. He realized too late that the ten million dollars the Butcher had just offered wasn't a bid. It was a death sentence.
"Alpha Kade," Marcus stammered, raising his hands defensively as the massive warlord took a single, slow step toward him. "P-please. She's just a half-breed runt. She's clumsy. She falls down the stairs. I didn't—"
"You have ten seconds," Kade's voice was a low, guttural vibration that shook the wooden floorboards beneath my bare feet. "To tell me which hand you used to strike what is mine."
The entire auction hall collectively held its breath. The rogue Alphas in the front row actually took another step back, terrified of being caught in the blast radius of the Winter King's fury.
Mine. The word echoed in my skull. I clutched the edges of the heavy fur cloak, trembling. He thought I belonged to him. I had just traded one abusive master for a monster who slaughtered armies.
"I—I am her Alpha!" Marcus shrieked, desperation making him foolish. He pointed a trembling finger at me. "I have the right to discipline my own pack! I sold her fair and square!"
Kade didn't blink. The feral, blazing gold in his eyes flared with absolute, apocalyptic violence.
He moved faster than the human eye could process. One second, Kade was standing in front of me; the next, he had crossed the stage and his massive, leather-clad hand was wrapped entirely around Marcus's throat.
Kade lifted my uncle clean off the wooden floor with a single arm.
Marcus choked, his legs kicking uselessly in the air, his hands clawing desperately at the thick, immovable muscle of Kade's forearm.
"You are no Alpha," Kade growled, his voice completely stripped of any mercy. "And she was never yours to sell."
With a sickening, violent twist of his massive wrist, a loud SNAP echoed through the silent auction hall.
Uncle Marcus went entirely limp.
Kade dropped the lifeless body onto the stage like a piece of garbage. He didn't even look down at the man he had just executed. The Butcher simply pulled a dark cloth from his combat belt, calmly wiped his leather gloves, and turned his glowing eyes back to the terrified auctioneer.
"The ten million will be wired to the Syndicate," Kade stated coldly. "Keep the change. Clean up the trash."
He didn't wait for an answer. Kade walked back to me.
I shrank back, my spine hitting the heavy velvet curtains behind the stage. Tears blurred my vision. He had just killed a man with his bare hands in a matter of seconds. And now, he was coming for me.
But as Kade stepped into my personal space, the apocalyptic warlord completely vanished.
He didn't grab my arm. He didn't bark an order. The massive, terrifying King slowly dropped down onto one knee, bringing his scarred face level with mine so he wouldn't tower over me.
"Do not fear me, little one," Kade whispered, his deep voice impossibly soft, thick with a raw, desperate gentleness. "I am going to pick you up now. I won't hurt you. I swear it on my wolf."
Before I could even process his words, Kade slid one massive arm under my knees and the other around my back, effortlessly lifting me against his armored chest. I weighed absolutely nothing to him.
I was too terrified to fight. I pressed my face into the crook of his neck, burying my nose into the soft fur of the cloak he had given me, completely overwhelmed by his heat and his intoxicating scent.
Kade carried me out of the underground auction house. No one dared to stop him. No one even breathed too loudly as the Butcher of the North walked out into the freezing night air with his prize.
Thirty minutes later, the deafening roar of jet engines vibrated beneath my feet.
I was sitting curled up in the corner of a massive, plush leather seat aboard a luxurious private jet. The cabin was dimly lit and incredibly warm. I was still clutching Kade's fur cloak around my shoulders like a protective shield.
Kade sat in the aisle seat across from me. He was giving me space, a massive, silent mountain of dark leather and tactical gear. He hadn't spoken since we boarded. His glowing golden eyes were fixed entirely on my bruised arms, his jaw clenched so tightly a muscle feathered in his cheek.
He was fighting a war inside his own head. The feral, protective instincts of his inner wolf were practically suffocating the air in the cabin, warring with his desperate need not to terrify me further.
"You're shivering," Kade finally broke the silence, his rough voice a low rumble.
"I'm fine," I lied quickly, my voice raspy and quiet. My stomach gave a loud, treacherous growl. I hadn't eaten in two days.
Kade let out a heavy sigh. He slowly reached under his seat and pulled out a silver tray. He didn't hand it to me; he carefully placed it on the small table between our seats and backed away, keeping his hands visible.
There was a plate of warm, roasted chicken, soft bread, and a glass of clean, cold water.
"Eat," Kade urged softly, the feral gold in his eyes slowly fading back to a striking, icy steel-blue.
I stared at the food. "What... what do you want from me?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "I'm a half-breed. I can't shift. I'm not strong enough to be a slave in the northern mines."
Kade physically flinched. The words seemed to strike him harder than a silver bullet.
He leaned forward, resting his heavy forearms on his knees. The jagged scar across his face caught the dim cabin light, making him look incredibly dangerous, yet completely heartbroken.
"You are not a slave, Nia," Kade swore, his deep voice vibrating with absolute, undeniable truth. "You are never going to work. You are never going to be cold. And no one in this world is ever going to lay a hand on you again."
I stared at him, completely confused. "Then why did you buy me?"
Kade's blue eyes darkened with a heavy, obsessive reverence. He looked at me not like a piece of property, but like a goddess he had spent his entire life searching for.
"Because," the Butcher of the North murmured, "the Moon Goddess finally answered my prayers. I didn't buy a servant, little one. I came to collect my Queen."